


Third Time's the Charm

by sorceress_of_gallifrey



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Chemistry, Gabriel Has a Crush on Sam Winchester, Gabriel flirting, Gen, Lab Partners, M/M, Sam Winchester needs a vacation, Titrations, betcha thought you'd never see that tag on a fic, classmates - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:09:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24096361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sorceress_of_gallifrey/pseuds/sorceress_of_gallifrey
Summary: “I guess we should--” Gabe turned the stopcock and released a stream of hydroxide into the flask, “--speed it up a little.”"Gabriel that is not how titrations work!" Sam sighed and frantically swirled the flask until the solution inside shifted back to clear. "If I see this solution turn bright pink one more goddamn time, you're done."Or: Sam just wants to pass gen chem but his drama queen lab partner isn't going to make it easy for him.Rated T for some language.
Relationships: Gabriel & Sam Winchester, Gabriel/Sam Winchester
Comments: 2
Kudos: 41





	Third Time's the Charm

**Author's Note:**

> For those who haven't done a titration:  
> It's adding a base with known concentration to acid with unknown concentration (or vise versa) until the solution is neutral to calculate the concentration of the unknown solution.  
> Pheno - Phenolphthalein, a common indicator that is clear in acidic and neutral solutions, hot pink in basic solutions, with a goal shade typically being a pale pink.

“Okay, so let’s try this one more time. Add three drops of pheno, then swirl it,” Sam said slowly, as if he were explaining the procedure to a child. The past two attempts at this titration had failed because Gabe couldn’t stay focused enough to add the hydroxide by the drop. 

Gabe did as Sam asked and placed the flask under the buret. “Alright, Sammy. Third time’s the charm, right?” He grinned deviously. 

“I sure hope so. Half the class is already on Unknown 4 and we’re still stuck on the first one.”

“I guess we should--” Gabe turned the stopcock and released a stream of hydroxide into the flask, “--speed it up a little.” Luckily, Sam jumped forward in time to stop it before the solution was ruined... _again_. He turned it back to the closed position and the stream of base ceased. 

“Gabriel! That is _not_ how titrations work!” Sam said, vigorously swirling the contents of the flask so that the base would mix in and be neutralized. Thankfully, the solution went clear after a few moments. “Did you even pay attention in class?”

The shorter man gazed up at him, “With a gorgeous specimen like you sitting a few seats down? C’mon Samsquatch, be serious here.”

Sam rolled his eyes and replaced the flask in its spot under the tip of the buret. “You know what? Why don’t _I_ release the base? You can swirl the flask."

Gabe immediately looked hurt to the point Sam couldn’t tell if he was feigning it or not. “Samuel! I can’t believe you would suggest that I am not responsible enough to release the base.”

“I’m not suggesting anything; I’m stating the obvious. You’re just not patient enough to let it drop in.” The taller man leaned forward and placed his hand near the bottom of the buret waiting for the inevitable reaction from his partner before he began handling the chemicals. As expected, Gabe gave a rather dramatic reaction to Sam’s comment. He gasped loudly and placed his hand on his chest in mock hurt. 

“Of course I’m patient and responsible!” he all but yelled. They were drawing attention from the rest of the class, most of whom had stopped to snicker at them trying to work together more than once anyway. Now, Gabe was just giving them a show. “How do you think I’ve made it to my sophomore year?”

Sam closed his eyes and took a breath as he tried to gather himself so that he would not snap and start yelling at his partner. Finally he responded, “You know, I don’t know. How _did_ you make it this far?”

This stopped him in his tracks. “It doesn’t matter because I’m here now, and I’m your partner. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, I’m Partner A and Partner A is supposed to be the one to release the base. So if you’ll just move your giant’s hand, Sambo, we can get on with the experiment.” He was looking at Sam with a combination of expectancy and mischief, which to one who didn’t know him, may look like anger or hurt. 

They stared each other down until Gabe raised his eyebrows, at which point Sam sighed and let go of the buret. “Fine. You get one more chance.” His partner’s face brightened at this and quickly fell when Sam continued, “But if I see this solution go bright pink one more goddamn time, you’re done and I’m gonna finish titrating.” He looked up to catch the amused glances of his classmates and gave them a little wave to indicate that they should return to their own work. 

“I knew you’d see it my way, Sammy,” Gabriel said with a satisfied smirk. He slowly turned the stopcock of the buret and watched as hydroxide dripped out. Sam crouched to desk height to better see the contents of the flask and continued swirling. He was keeping an eye on Gabriel, making sure that stopcock stayed at an angle and not straight vertical. 

After about 15 drops, Sam could tell Gabe was getting bored again: he started tapping his fingers on the table, checking his watch, checking his phone ( _How’d he sneak his phone past the professor?_ Sam thought off-handedly), and even went so far as to start texting...with both hands. Sam frowned and glanced back at the flask, which now had clouds of magenta that were taking longer and longer to dissipate. He blinked when he realized what he was seeing and immediately drew his hand up to stop the buret, but Gabe beat him to it and all but smacked his hand away. 

“Hands off my cock, Samuel!” Gabe shouted, once again gaining the attention of at least half the class and a snicker from the TA who had just been sitting in the back watching this unfold. Sam visibly winced at his, frankly terrible, wording, but at least Gabriel had the sense to stop the base drip. 

He didn’t bother to respond and continued to swirl the flask, hoping to whatever gods were out there that the magenta faded to a paler shade and that the titration wasn’t ruined _again_. Finally, the color started to shift, and Sam was left swirling a pleasant baby pink solution. When the color held for another 30 seconds of swirling, Sam let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding and set the glass down on the white paper of his lab notebook so he could confirm the color. He gestured the TA over with a raise of his hand so that she could check it. 

She came by their table, swirled the flask a few times and brought it to eye level before nodding in approval. “Looks good, guys.” She handed them another small vial of clear liquid like they had started with, but this one was labelled number 2. “Maybe dilute this one so you don’t have to use three vials.” She glanced at Gabe, who was grinning with pride and had a terrible glint in his eye that could only mean their group would be staying late to finish, and added, “Or don’t. I don’t mind mixing more.”

The TA walked off and Gabe turned his gaze to Sam and _winked_. “See, Samuel? Third time’s the charm.” 

Sam put his face in his hands and let out a long groan. 

This was going to be a long semester. 


End file.
